Annihilation (2018)
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A group of scientists enters a mysterious, mutating zone to find a missing man.
The story
Cellular biology professor and former US Army soldier Lena is under interrogation. She recounts her expedition to an anomalous zone known as the Shimmer. The Shimmer began expanding three years prior from a meteor that crash-landed at the St. Marks Light lighthouse in the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge in Florida. Expeditions into the Shimmer invariably result in the complete disappearance of the crews. Lena's husband Kane disappears on one such expedition, but inexplic️ly appears inside their home one year later. Kane's condition quickly deteriorates, so Lena calls an ambulance, but security forces intercept them and take them both to a secret facility.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Lena, a biologist, joins a team of scientists—including a geomorphologist, a paramedic, and a physicist—to enter the Shimmer, a zone of mutated life caused by a meteor. After a sudden jump in distance and loss of communication, they encounter mutated wildlife and a derelict military base. They find a video from Lena's husband, Kane, and discover his body has become a colony of lichens. As the group travels further, they find a village of humanoid plants. The physicist, Josie, realizes the Shimmer refracts DNA like light. The paramedic, Anya, becomes paranoid and is killed by a mutant bear. The psychologist, Ventress, reveals she has cancer and heads toward the central lighthouse. Josie allows herself to be 'refracted' into a plant. Lena reaches the lighthouse, finds Kane's remains, and sees a Doppelgänger of him. She encounters Ventress, who disintegrates into a shimmering cloud that transforms into a faceless humanoid mimicking Lena. Lena tricks the creature into exploding a grenade and flees. In the present, Lena's interrogation ends; she visits a stabilized but changed Kane, and they embrace as their irises shimmer.
- First release year
- 2018
- Runtime (minutes)
- 115
- Production countries
- United Kingdom; United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Alex Garland
- Writers
- Alex Garland · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Natalie Portman · biologist; Jennifer Jason Leigh · psychologist; Gina Rodriguez · Anya; Tessa Thompson · Josie
- Genres
- science-fiction; cosmic horror
- Themes
- depression; grief; self-destruction
- Tone and mood
- dreamlike
- Premise and plot tags
- science-fiction; horror; mutagenic; alien visitation
- Source material / true-story basis
- the 2014 novel by Jeff VanderMeer
- Franchise connections
- Southern Reach Trilogy
- Reception
- The film received largely positive reviews from critics and was praised for its ambitious exploration of themes and its visual wonder.
- Reported review scores
- PostTrak · score: 71% · scale: percentage
- Production trivia
- The film was inspired by the novel 'The Crystal World' by J. G. Ballard.; The film has been compared to 'Roadside Picnic' and 'Stalker'.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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